PITT'S SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES RECEIVES TWO COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA "LINK-TO-LEARN" GRANTS

PITTSBURGH, April 10 -- The University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences (SIS) recently received two of the 26 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's "Link-to-Learn" grants to improve the quality and desirability of the state's work force by increasing the use of technology in classrooms.

Faculty members Hassan Karimi and Prashant Krishnamurthy, both new to SIS, received grants for curriculum development to prepare students in two leading technologies: geoinformatics and wireless communications.

Unique to the Link-to-Learn request for proposals was the stipulation that each submission needed to include pledge commitments from industry of time, cash gifts, or in-kind equipment for that program. Industry participation was required to demonstrate a vested interest in the need for a skilled workforce with an expertise in that area of information technology (IT).

The grant awarded to Karimi will support curriculum development for a Geoinformatics Track under the Master of Science in Information Science degree program. The Geoinformatics Track will focus on all geospatial related activities including geographic information systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), and remote sensing. The award from the Commonwealth totaled $487,712 and will be used to develop course material and a learning laboratory, create laboratory exercises, and implement an outreach initiative to teach geoinformatic technologies to educators and students in K-12 schools. Combined with commitments from business partners like Duquesne Light Company, Environmental Systems Research Institute, WEC Engineers, Michael Baker Engineering, Keystone Precision Instruments, Regional Planning Technologies, Rettew Associates, E Transport, Microsoft Corporation, Trimble Navigation, and Kiely and Associates to provide hardware, software, technical support, and training, the total value of the grant is $1.2 million.

"There is a growing demand by IT employers for people with education and experience in geospatial data collection; geospatial information analysis and modeling; and geospatial information systems development, implementation and processing, and I am really excited that Pitt is on the forefront of education in this area," said SIS Dean Toni Carbo. "Dr. Karimi is an excellent addition to our faculty, and we are confident that he and several other colleagues at SIS and in the Pitt community will shape an outstanding program."

The $298,877 grant awarded to Krishnamurthy will support curriculum development for a Wireless Information Systems (WIS) Track in the Master of Science in Telecommunications (MST) degree. The first of its kind, the WIS Track provides a unique technical education emphasizing a systems perspective in the development, design, and deployment of wireless information networks. Other university wireless communications programs use an electrical engineering focus.

"Major corporations and venture capital firms are investing large sums of money in developing wireless data technology, resulting in explosive growth in the demand for professionals trained in wireless information systems," said Carbo. "Our telecommunications program is one of the best in the country and the addition of Dr. Krishnamurthy has strengthened its position, so a new track in wireless information systems is a logical and valuable extension of this program."

Krishnamurthy's grant will support course and laboratory exercise development and a new wireless technology teaching laboratory. The grant also will partially fund the "wireless classroom" initiative, to bring inexpensive wireless handheld computers into the classroom at all education levels. The Microsoft Corporation has donated software and mobile computing devices to support this innovative program. With the support from Microsoft and other business partners, the Link-to-Learn grant's value is $415,000.

"In three years, there will be more wireless devices connected to the Internet than all wired devices combined," said Krishnamurthy. "Our project is to make certain that students and the general workforce in Pennsylvania remain ahead of this curve."

"We are grateful to the Commonwealth for including the School of Information Sciences in such a worthwhile endeavor as Link-to-Learn," said Carbo. "Such a practical application of teaching and research will go a long way toward preparing information technology students for the new economy."

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